Beyond the Veil
by Dommo
Summary: A security guard, in a dead end job starts noticing strange goings on at the King's Cross station. With the help of his pal, he unwittingly wanders into something that forever changes his previously mundane life. Reviews are really appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

Beyond the Veil

Prologue

The existence of world's beyond our own is a concept that human beings grasp in their earliest ages. Every child has an invisible friend at some point, and many people believe in a god, gods, magic or other types supernatural things. However, a few people do suspect that some of these beliefs may actually be grounded in reality, or at least a reality that is not conventional to what the average person experiences. Ian Reed, happened to be such an individual.

Chapter 1

Ian rubbed his eyes, as he looked at a the series of spreadsheets he'd accumulated over the past month working security at King's Cross Station. He yawned and took a sip of his now cold coffee that sat on his desk, and thought about the strange discrepancies he was observing.

_Where do these people go? Ever since the new security devices were installed after the terrorist bombings, I've noticed that we've got more people coming in, then are actually leaving by train, or just leaving the station. What is going on? _

Ian sighed, and shut his computer off.

"Ah, for Christ's sake, it's two thirty in the morning." He lamented, as he staggered off to his unmade bed.

_Well tomorrow's going to be rough, I've gotta get up in 4 hours. Might as well try to get a bit of sleep._

With that thought, he fell into a caffeine inhibited sleep.

Ian felt as though he'd hardly rolled over, when he heard the irritating beeping of his alarm. As he blindly fumbled to shut the damn thing off, he knocked only succeeded in knocking it off his nightstand. Groaning in irritation, that this pest wouldn't be silenced, he managed to drag himself out bed and pulled the plug out of his alarm clock.

_Heh, that'll shut you up you little bastard. _

Pausing and taking a breath, he took a look out of the window of his second story flat. It was raining. Looking back at the bed, he was tempted to call in sick, but he decided against it. Walking over to the bathroom he got himself ready for work. Looking in the mirror Ian could see that he looked pretty rough. His short black hair was all dishevelled, and he sucked in a bit as he tried to hide his bit of paunch.

_Man are my eyes blooshot, they look like a couple of piss holes._

After getting himself looking halfway decent, he put on his uniform and coat on, he grabbed an umbrella and walked out the door. He went down the stairs and started walking to the underground station a few streets over to catch the morning train. He stopped by the small food vendor at his final stop like he did every morning, and picked up a bagel and a coffee, when he noticed something unusual. There was an abnormally large number of kids out this morning.

_I wonder why there's so many kids out at this time of day? _

Ian proceeded to walk from the tube entrance to the nearby King's Cross station. He couldn't help but notice that the parents and the children were going the same way he was. As he entered the station he pulled out his ID card and gave it to Joe Betcher who worked at the security desk. Joe was a slightly overweight, guy in his mid thirties. A good guy, and Ian's partner in crime. Two guys, two dead end jobs, and both with no real prospects to speak of, romantic or otherwise. Joe opened the door, and Ian walked into the small security office, that smelled of stale coffee.

"Hey, Ian. I guess you got short end of the stick I see like me. Both stuck on weekend duty." Joe jovially said.

"Yeah, I guess so. Hey did you notice all the kids coming here this morning? I wonder what's up?" Ian responded, as he took off his coat and walked into the neighboring locker room. He put his hat on, took a look in the mirror got himself looking presentable, put his baton on, and walked back out into the security office.

"So what do you say we go out on the town for a pint, after we get done here?" Joe inquired, as he handed Ian his ID.

"Meh, sure sounds good. Not like we've got anything better to do right." Ian smiled.

"Alright, sounds like a plan." Joe responded.

Being that Ian was a security guard, he pretty much was tasked with roaming up and down the train station. He pretty much just spent the day wandering around, occasionally helping a lost tourist to his train, or finding a lost child's parents. It was more or less the same every day. Once in a long while he might have to break up a fight (which typically happened when a bunch of drunken football fans came wandering through), but in general it was an easy job.

This particular morning though, the station was largely empty except for the few dozen parents and their children. This usually didn't cause him to really pay any attention to these people, but something just wasn't right. Ian couldn't quite put his finger on it, but everything just seemed a bit on the strange side. Almost like an episode of the twilight zone he had seen a week ago during another sleepless night.

At outward appearance the kids and their parents looked like the standard multitudes that existed in every town or city. Yet, something was out of place. For one thing Ian thought, they were in a strange position. Usually people waited for a train at a specific platform, yet the children sat around with their luggage between platforms nine and ten. This wouldn't be unusual if this were during a weekday when commuters might be pouring in, and all of the available benches were full, but the station at the moment was largely empty.

The second strange thing he noticed, was that the parents seemed to have difficulty working the automated ticket machines. In fact Ian had to assist them with purchasing tickets. The thing that made no sense though, was that the parents didn't buy the same tickets. Ian figured that these kids all appeared to be a group going to the same place, and it made no sense for their parents to buy tickets that went to all different points in the country. But, it's not like he would stop them, it was their money, and he wasn't about to intrude in the lives of these families.

The last thing that truly made Ian suspicious was that there were no trains set to arrive that morning. The first one was going to arrive at noon, as the railworkers were currently on strike. So why did all of these people show up at around four hours early for train? Especially when most of the trains that the tickets were bought for, weren't set to arrive until late in the afternoon.

_What the hell is going on here? It's not like these people are clueless tourists, they all speak like locals, so why are they here on a saturday morning for trains that aren't set to arrive until this evening? I sure wouldn't expect an eight year old kid to be able to stand 10 hours of boredom waiting for a train. _

By the time nine o'clock came around, a few more people with their children had wandered in to the station, and took up a spot with the small crowd that was camped between platforms nine and ten. Ian had done a few rounds of the platforms, and had noticed the other guard who was on duty leave to use the loo. Ian was at this point the only security guard out on the platforms.

It was at this time that Ian saw the strangest thing. He could swear that he saw a kid vanish into thin air. Ian gave his head a shake thinking that perhaps the sleep deprivation was getting to him. He took another look, and saw a second child disappear, then a third. Within minutes, all of the children had seemingly vanished into nothingness like a fart in the wind. The parents then nonchalantly left station.

_Am I hallucinating, or did I see thirty children vanish into thin air? There is no way that could have happened without it being picked up on the surveillance cameras. _

Ian then saw the other guard come back from the bathroom, and he resumed his patrolling of the then empty station. All the while his mind was trying to rationalize the strange things he had seen. He then walked to the station entrance and managed to catch a woman who he'd recognized as one of the parents.

"Miss, I believe you dropped this." Ian said while fishing out a 50p coin out of his pocket, hoping that it'd stop the woman from leaving the station.

The woman turned and looked at Ian and said "I think you're mistaken, that Mug.. Money isn't mine."

_Hmm... I wonder what that word was that she was trying to cut off. Regardless she seems to be trying to hide something, as she looks a bit ancy._

"I apologize then miss, and I know this might seem rude, but I seem to recall you walking into the station with a few children. Where are they, as youngsters aren't allowed to be by themselves? I know it's safe, but it's the policy of the station after we had a string of vandalisms." Ian was obviously doing a good job bullshitting, as the woman looked positively petrified. There was no policy like that, as it wasn't uncommon for teenagers and children to take the train by themselves to relatives houses, in fact Ian had done such a thing when he was young.

The woman's lip quivered, and she turned and ran out of the station entrance into the pouring rain. Ian briefly gave chase, and she rounded a corner ahead of him. Just as he rounded that same corner, he saw that she was gone.

_Impossible. There is nothing but open street. Where did she go? _

Ian by this time was pretty wet, and he walked back into the station. The rest of the morning was uneventful, as he waited for lunch hour to swing by. He had to tell Joe about what he'd seen.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"So you're telling me, that you saw about thirty kids disappear just like that? Are you sure everything's alright up there?" Joe said as he poked Ian in the forehead.

"I'm dead serious Joe. Something weird has been going on around here lately. In fact, I've been noticing strange discrepancies in the rider numbers lately. Too many tickets being bought, and not enough riders. Who spends twenty quid on a ticket, and then skips out?" Ian said as Joe looked at him while chewing on a piece of food.

"I dubno, but why should we care about people not riding as long as they still paid for a ticket?" Joe said while swallowing his food.

"If it will placate you, we'll take a look at the surveillance tapes and the ticket records, when we get back to work. I'll just say that I need you to help me in the office, and I'll put Bill out on the floor for the afternoon." Joe finished.

"Thanks man, I really appreciate this..." Ian said, but Joe cut him off.

"Just make sure the boss doesn't learn of you looking at the tapes. You're not supposed to have access to that information, and I don't want to lose this job. You do however owe me a few pints for doing this favor." Joe said.

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed, and I swear upon my manly honor, that I will tribute you with beer this evening." Ian said smiling.

The two men, then got up, paid their bills and walked back to the station.

"Hey Bill, you mind taking Ian's place patrolling the platforms? I need his help up here with some computer issues." Joe said, walking into the security office.

It helped that bill was the "new guy". He was one of those over eager folk who were obsessed with proving themselves. So it was as no surprise, when Bill left the security office, to take up Ian's patrol job.

"Ok, let's take a looksy at this mornings tapes." Joe said as he toggled a switch on one of the VCR's.

The TV screen in front of them suddenly displayed the grainy black and white video with the time in the corner. It said 7:56 AM in the corner, and as they looked on, they only saw Ian walk into the station.

"What was this you were telling me about walking in with a group of kids and parents?" Joe said, eyebrow cocked, as turned to look at Ian. Ian shook his head in disbelief, as this completely contradicted his experiences this morning.

Joe then switched to another tape that was observing the ticket kiosks where people purchased tickets for the trains. Then they saw something very strange. Ian appeared to be standing next to the kiosk pointing and talking to some invisible person.

"Are you sure you shouldn't be thrown in a nut house? You're just standing there talking and pointing to nothing." Joe said, with actual genuine concern in his eyes.

"I'm telling you, I was talking to one of the parents instructing them on how to use the kiosk.. Wait pause the video. Take a closer look at the pay slot on the machine." Ian said, and Joe did just that.

"What the bloody hell is that? A twenty quid bill just popped into existence. I know you didn't do that, as I can see your hands. Let me fast forward a little bit." Joe said, with an expression of pure astonishment upon his balding head.

"Would ya look at that. 20 quid bills just keep popping out of no where. So you really did see something here. Let's take a look at the ticket purchases on the kiosks." He then swiveled his chair over to the computer nearby, and proceeded to look at the most recent purchase histories.

"Yep, that backs you up. I see purchases for 16 adult tickets to various places, and 34 youth tickets. You were right to think something fishy was going on." Joe said.

_Finally I've got a comrade in arms here, who is seeing the same weird things I've been seeing lately. Ian thought._

"I'm going to switch to the tapes of the platforms. If our invisible friends are going to be spotted that's where, because we've got about ten different cameras looking around the station." Joe turned the tapes on, but nothing appeared on the grainy video. Ian could be seen walking back and forth on his beat, but other than him and the other security guard in the station, no one else was visible.

"Well I'll be damned. I may not have seen the kids disappear like you did Ian, but I sure as hell saw twenty quid bills pop into existence from nothingness, and saw invisible people buy tickets. I didn't believe in ghosts, but I think I do now." Joe rubbed his eyes.

"Boy I need a pint, it's not everyday a person's world view is shaken to its core."Joe lamented.

"I agree with you here man, I'll buy." Ian said smiling.

As they were walking they were heading to a pub called the Prancing Pony they were still in their security uniforms. It was a place on charing cross road about a half mile from Ian's flat. All the while the two men were talking about what they'd seen that day, trying to come up with explanations for the seemingly impossible. It was at about this point, that things got even more bizarre.

"Joe, hold up for a second. I recognize that woman. She's one of the parents I saw earlier today."

"No shit? I don't suppose we want to follow her do we?" Joe gave Ian 'the look'.

"Why not. Perhaps we might learn something about the disappearing act we saw this morning." Ian said.

Joe nodded, and they proceeded to follow the woman along the sidewalk, always careful to maintain a bit of distance, as to not provoke any suspicion. It's not like they stuck out too much, as it was a Saturday night after all and the street was full of people beginning the evening pub crawl. After about five minutes of following, they saw here turn and enter a pub called The Leaky Cauldron.

"Hehe... Ian I'd say we've got a case of some serious irony here." Joe said as he pointed up to the sign.

"Why don't we head in and knock back a few. I don't recognize this place. It must be new, as I'm one of the most well known pub crawlers in this part of London, and I've frequented just about every establishment here." Joe continued.

"I suppose it can't hurt, at the very least we'll be thought of as a couple of drunks who just wandered in ranting about invisible people." Ian said smiling at the thought.

They entered the pub, and were mildly surprised at the crowd who was in there. A bunch of people were wearing robes and such, and the two security guards looked absolutely out of place. Of course there were a few regular looking folk, but still there was something that felt out of place.

"I didn't know they were having a costume party this evening." Joe said looking at Ian.

"Meh, not everyone's dressed up. Let's head up to the counter and get ourselves some refreshment." Ian said as they walked up to the bar counter.

"Hey 'tender, could we get a few beers down here." Ian said as he held a fiver in his hand.

All of the sudden the bar went quiet. Ian and Joe looked at each other wondering what was going on? When they heard a voice say "You know muggle money isn't accepted."

Thinking on the fly, on how to recover the situation Joe came up with a plan.

"I'm sorry, my friend here is a bit drunk, and he's short the proper currency." Joe said, and Ian immediately feigned being drunk.

"Ah I'll help you lads out. I can see that you've got yourself a hand full. Let's head back to gringotts and get this situation rectified." A friendly looking man said looking at Joe in some heartfelt sympathy.

"Thanks for the favor sir. This is Ian, and I'm Joe, and what might your name be sir?" Joe said.

The tall, lanky, red haired man said "Arthur Weasley. It's no problem at all."


End file.
